The embattled former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe says he’s been set up. Cedric Cromwell has filed a motion to dismiss charges of bribery leveled against him, claiming he was set up by the Trump administration.

Cromwell filed his motion to dismiss on January 19, asking to be freed from accusations made on November 13, 2020. He faces 10 charges in federal court, including two charges of accepting or paying bribes, another for conspiracy to commit bribery, and a couple of charges revolving around extortion.

 “The charges allege that Mr. Cromwell violated the trust he owed to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe by committing extortion, accepting bribes and otherwise abusing his position,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling in a press release on Nov. 13, 2020.

If you ask Cromwell, the Trump administration put him up to it. “This legal action is definitely a Trump set up,” Cromwell told Native News Online.